An ambassador for Leica has said that the newly announced Leica M Monochrom, a camera which can only shoot black and white images has the capability of creating a whole new genre of photography.
Brett, who teaches workshops at the Leica akademie, said, "Comparisons with film have less relevance now, the camera will form its own niche, its own audience. It will stand parallel to black and white film and be its own medium.
"Most people usually look for a film quality, but this camera will give the ability to form an entirely new black and white digital genre.
Broaden
"It was about experimentation [shooting black and white film] and this camera might broaden the digital experience and might even bring people back into printing."
The Leica M Monochrom was announced last week, and is based on the design of the Leica M9 but has an 18 million pixel sensor which can only capture black and white images.
There are a number of advantages to having a black and white only sensor. Removing the RGGB (red, green, green, blue) filter array above the sensor allows more light to reach the sensor, which in turn helps with image noise control.
Leica is rumoured to be introducing an M10 at Photokina, the upcoming photography show taking place in Germany in September. Presently, its M9 and M9-P rangefinders are the world's smallest interchangeable lens full-frame cameras.
